Moving from Technical Professional to Management

This course provides technical professionals with tried and true methods to help you level up your career and move into management. You will learn how to get management to take notice of your outstanding skills and hopefully land a promotion.

Course info

Rating

(45)

Level

Beginner

Updated

May 19, 2017

Duration

2h 14m

Description

This course, Moving from Technical Professional to Management, is for any technical professional who is interested in moving their career into management. Throughout this course, you'll be presented with everyday scenarios and techniques to show your leadership skills. You'll learn how to facilitate communication and organization in your team to properly show off your leadership ability. Next, you'll learn about improving business processes and how that ties into being a manager. Then, you'll learn the different ways you can show that you're reliable, so that co-workers and management are confident in your leadership skills. Next, you'll learn how students can take initiative in your current role as a technical professional. Finally, you'll learn how being fearless will help you move into management. By the end of this course, you'll know how to get middle and upper management to take notice of your outstanding skills and be on your way to landing a promotion to management.

About the author

Shelley has 20+ years of experience in IT as an Entrepreneur, Manager, Trainer, and Lead Microsoft .NET Developer. She has a passion for technology, gaming, and general nerdery. She loves to learn new things as well as mentor and teach others.

Section Introduction Transcripts

Course OverviewHi everyone, my name is Shelly Benhoff, and welcome to my course, Moving from Technical Professional to Management. I'm a Senior Consultant and Professional Trainer at HoffsTech. I have also managed global teams, and this course includes real stories from my professional career. In this course, we're going to go through several entertaining, animated scenarios featuring a cast of characters that hold various positions within an organization, and they're all vying for management positions. Some of the major topics that we will cover include facilitating communication, improving a process, being reliable, taking initiative, handling conflict management, and being fearless. By the end of this course, you will know how you can apply the tactics presented in this course in your current job so that your leadership potential will be noticed by management. I hope you will join me on this journey to level up your career with the Moving from Technical Professional to Management course here on Pluralsight.

IntroductionIn this course, you will learn techniques to help you move from a technical professional to management. Let's take a minute to review what it means to be a manager. The definition of a manager is a person responsible for controlling or administering all or part of a company or similar organization. What does that actually mean? Let's break it down. Managers often control project, budgets, and resources. It is very important that they keep on top of the project budget to make sure that they do not go over. This ties in with resources because they cost money. If you use a resource for too long on a project, it sends the budget over the limit. A manager should also be a mentor. They should be skilled at drawing the highest potential from their employees. So how can you show management that you have leadership potential?

Facilitating CommunicationIn this module, we will discuss a key component that is necessary to move from a technical professional to management, facilitating communication. Effective written and verbal communication are key skills that you will need if you want to move from a technical professional to management. As a manager, you will need to take these skills to the next level to ensure that your employees, vendors, and other teams within your organization have constant open lines of communication. In this module, I will walk you through several example scenarios of how you can facilitate communication in your current job as a technical professional. Facilitating communication may not be a part of your current job title; however, if you show that you are willing and capable to facilitate communication within your organization and with any third parties you may be working with, you will show your leadership skills, and upper management will notice as your projects begin to run more smoothly. Let's go ahead and get started.

Improving a ProcessIn this module, we will discuss improving a process. A business process is a list of tasks that serve a particular goal. As a manager, you will be responsible for managing business processes to ensure that your team achieves goals and produces deliverables set by upper management. In your current role you can, and should, work with management to improve, create, and maintain processes. Management will notice your professional growth as you show them that you're able to think like a manager. Throughout this module, we will review several scenarios in which our team members find opportunities to improve processes. They use standard best practices to ensure that they help their team or organization meet its goals by creating, reviewing, and maintaining business processes. Let's get started.

Being ReliableIn this module, we will discuss ways that you can show that you have management potential by being reliable. When you're a manager, you will be responsible for handling project schedules, resources, and maybe called upon to act in an emergency situation. It is very important for you to show that you are a reliable member of the team now in your current job so that management knows that they can count on you when the chips are down. If people can rely on you to get the job done, they will trust you as well. However, it is important to keep in mind your work-life balance. Let's talk about a few ways that you can show that you're reliable but also maintain a work-life balance.

Taking InitiativeIn this module, we will discuss how to level up your career by taking initiative. Let's face it, no job description entirely describes the job at hand. You will often find yourself in a position where you will be asked to perform tasks that are outside of your job description. You should take these opportunities to show management that you have great potential and think outside of the box. You may also see opportunities to take initiative when you're not specifically asked to do so. It is very important that you take initiative when you can. This will show management that you are willing and able to take yourself outside of your comfort zone, which may be something you have to do often as a manager. Throughout this module, we will watch and learn as our team members take initiative and compare them with ones who do not. Let the learning begin.

Handling Conflict ManagementIn this module, we will discuss how to get management to notice your leadership ability by handling conflict management. Conflict management is the process of increasing the positive aspects of conflict while limiting the negative aspects. The purpose of conflict management is to improve performance within an organization. As a manager, a very large part of your job will be resolving conflicts. In your current job, you can show that you're capable of managing conflicts by seeking out resolution yourself before the problem escalates. Let's watch as our team practices effective communication and seeks resolutions to conflicts.

Being FearlessIn this module, we will discuss ways you can get management to notice your leadership ability by being fearless. If you want a promotion, you will have to ask for it. You must be confident in your skills so that others will be confident in your ability to lead. When you become a manager, you will have to lead a team. You will have to learn how to prioritize tasks and tell people "No. " Great leaders do not hesitate or regret decisions they have made. They are direct, to the point, and do not entertain ideas that will not support their vision and business processes. In order for you to grow in your career into management positions, it is very important to create a career plan and make your goals known to your coworkers and management. Throughout this module, we will watch as our team members discuss their career plans with management and ask for promotions. Let's get started.